Stanford (the school that brought us Condy Rice, thanks) actually has a reputation for producing some of the most conservative lawyers and academics, followed by University of Chicago.

Is this true?

Yes, definitely. I think you also really have to look at the faculty, as the faculty sort of guide the direction of scholarship. (In that regard, Stanford & Univ. of Chicago are conservative) We should include UCLA; they have a fantastic CRT focus and they have Kimberle Crenshaw.

I don't think "public interest" should be politics-nuetral. We are talking about serving the under-represented, those without access to resources and a voice, and that IS political.

I don't think that this is true of the law school faculty, though. Larry Kramer, Kathleen Sullivan, Pam Karlan, and Larry Marshall are all definite liberals, and they really seem to be setting the tone of the school right now. Also, I've talked to my friends at Stanford and they say 1) that Condie was actually a good provost and a reasonable scholar, and that people appreciated having a black women in such a position of power. they all think she's gone psycho since joining the bush administration 2) that the conservative part of Stanford is largely confined to Hoover, which has very little interaction with the rest of campus and very little effect on the campus political mood.

Next to Michigan you can add (from their web-site):The University of Michigan was recognized in 2001 as the Public Interest School of the Year by the student division of the ABA.

Don't know who the recent winners have been...

Does it give any reason why it was chosen for this award? Because I've never heard Michigan's name mentioned when public interest comes up, either in a negative or positive way. I'd always just assumed that it was middle-of-the-road for a T14. Also, I suspect that Mich might have won the award that year because of its defense of itself in the affirmative action cases. While that might have been PI work, I wouldn't really count it as a program that actually benefits PI students on a continuing basis, in the same way that a clinic, well-staffed career office, or presitigious PI scholarship would help students.

ormachea

I'd go more off of the feel when you visit. And when I visited it felt impossible for another law school to top NYU for PI. Sure, only about 30% go straight into PI work, but that is a magnificent percentage when you compare it with the $$$$$$ from the BigLaw alternative. The LRAP program, the scholarships, the clinics, the organizations... so many things were PI oriented.

More from Michigan's site:Michigan is 1 of the top 3 of our peer law schools in the percentage of graduates taking their first job in public interest (judicial clerkship, public interest, and government).

And, towards the bottom of their FAQ for Prospective Students:Is there any help for students who want to pursue Public Interest work?

The Public Service Office provides counseling to students who want to pursue jobs in public interest or in the public sector. The University of Michigan was recognized in 2001 as the Public Interest School of the Year by the student division of the ABA. The Debt Management Program also aids graduates who are interested in public interest and public service by helping them pay back a proportion of their loans based on their income. This is one of the strongest and most progressive programs of its kind in the country; there is no requirement that the job be of any particular kind, other than that it be law-related, which is different from most other schools' policies. Last year, about $400,000 was distributed to almost 100 people. In addition, there are student funded fellowships for students working in unpaid public interest or public sector internships; last year, more than 65 students received fellowships of $3200 each.

I don't attend U of M Law, so all I can give you is what's up on their page.

I'd go more off of the feel when you visit. And when I visited it felt impossible for another law school to top NYU for PI. Sure, only about 30% go straight into PI work, but that is a magnificent percentage when you compare it with the $$$$$$ from the BigLaw alternative. The LRAP program, the scholarships, the clinics, the organizations... so many things were PI oriented.

Yeah, NYU is pretty dang good. I struggled with the no. 2 spot, because NYU supports its PI students so much, but I eventually figured that the Harvard name still givs Harvard grads that extra edge. My rankings aren't ranking schools on their commitment to public interest. I'm trying to figure out which schools will give a student the best entree into PI. And I think that Harvard's name just pulls complete rank on NYU (especially with government jobs), even with PI .

As to the quote from Michigan's website, if you pull up any website from a T14 school, they will tell you exactly the same thing. Except, of course, the 2001 award, but unless anyone finds any more compelling info on it, I feel justified in ignoring the ABA.